Nathan Verhelst Allows Doctors End His Life After His Sex-Change Operation Turned Him Into A 'Monster'

A Belgian transsexual chose to die by euthanasia after a botched sex change operation to complete his transformation into a man left him a 'monster'.
Nathan Verhelst, 44, died yesterday afternoon after being allowed have his life ended on the grounds of 'unbearable psychological suffering'.
It is understood to be the first time someone in Belgium has chosen euthanasia after a sex-change, and comes soon after it emerged that it is now the cause of nearly one in 50 deaths in the country.

Mr Verhelst died after a lethal injection administered by the same doctor who last year ended the lives of congenitally deaf twins who were also going blind.
Born a girl named Nancy, his transformation into a man began with hormone therapy in 2009, followed by a mastectomy and finally an operation to construct a penis last year.
But the procedures did not go according to plan.
In the hours before his death he told Belgium's newspaper'I was ready to celebrate my new birth. But when I looked in the mirror, I was disgusted with myself
'My new breasts did not match my expectations and my new penis had symptoms of rejection. I do not want to be... a monster.'
His family learned of his decision this morning via a farewell letter.
Mr Verhelst's decision comes amid a fierce debate over euthanasia in Belgium, where the number of deaths due to the controversial practice soared by 25 per cent last year.'
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Euthanasia is legal under Belgian law if those making the decision can make their wishes clear and are suffering unbearable pain, according to a doctor's judgement.
The Belgian law differs from that of Switzerland, famous for its Dignitas clinic, where only 'assisted suicide' is permitted.
This means patients must play an active role in the administration of the drug that ends their lives.
Wim Distelmans, a cancer specialist who carried out the euthanasia of Mr Verhelst, is the same doctor who last year ended the lives of deaf twins Marc and Eddy Verbessem, who were both going blind.
The 45-year-olds, from the village of Putte, near the city of Mechelen, had lived together their entire adult lives and could not communicate with the outside world.

Their brother, Dirk Verbessem, said they were terrified of never being able to see each other and feared losing their independence in an institution.
That was for my brothers unbearable,' said Mr Verbessem, 46. 'They lived together, did their own cooking and cleaning. You could eat off the floor. Blindness would have made them completely dependent.'
The twins, from the village of Putte, near Mechelen, were told they would go blind from a genetically caused form of glaucoma.
The pair communicated with each other using a special sign language understood only by them and their close family.
They died by lethal injection at Brussels University Hospital in Jette just before Christmas last year, dressed in new shoes and suits, with Mr Verbessem and their parents, Mary and Remy, by their sides.
Mr Verbessem said: 'Marc and Eddy waved again at us. "Up in the sky," they said. "Up in the sky," we replied. And then it was over.